Support the Denver Anarchist Black Cross because they support you!

Denver ABC’s financial support and solidarity programs threatened by past support for Occupy Denver!

Comrades, friends, allies, supporters, and all those who believe in a world without cages:

We know your inboxes, Facebook newsfeeds, blog comment sections, postal mailboxes, and most methods of communication in your life get filled with requests for funds and monetary support for a host of programs, organizations, and projects working toward social justice and liberation. We have been very fortunate over the last years to have much support from supporters and members of social movements who have somehow found it in their hearts to support us despite the deluge of requests they receive on a regular basis.

With this in mind, we apologize up front for this request. Please understand that we do not take your time, energy or resources lightly, and we only are asking for support because we must.

Due to our past support for Occupy Denver, where we raised over $16,000 for bail for over 50 arrestees and provided direct legal support for dozens more, we have dealt with ongoing debt to bail bonds-people for a number of cases in which defendants skipped court and had their bonds revoked.

We very recently were contacted by a local bonds-person and notified that we must pay them $2,000 in the next several weeks, or face civil litigation. A very active former member of Occupy Denver who previously failed to appear on another bond we had already posted directly with the city, had also failed to appear on another older case. We already forfeited $3,000 in a cash bond for the first failed appearance. We now are facing losing an additional $2,000 for this other failed appearance.

We release this statement not in the interests of attacking or shaming the person who did not appear, as we have no interests in aiding the state in ongoing judicial attacks against anyone. We refuse to name names in this situation, and we ask that our allies and those we have worked with also do not advance the state’s work for them. Instead, we describe the situation we are in for some level of transparency, and to illustrate the repercussions our collective is now facing for our support for Occupy Denver. We also wish to make it clear that we do not regret supporting Occupy Denver, nor do we condemn or in any way attack anyone else affiliated with Occupy Denver. We still stand in solidarity with the ongoing efforts of the Occupy Movement locally, and internationally.

All this said, we need your help, and we need it now.

Since 2009, Denver Anarchist Black Cross has done what we can to aid those who struggle for a better world but find themselves in need of support and solidarity. Whether through organizing support for political prisoners, offering financial aid to social movement members in Denver who find themselves in dire economic situations, helping support families and children of those active in our movements, or working to share resources with those organizing in a plethora of communities, we’ve dedicated ourselves to doing everything in our power to support those actively engaged in some of the most bitter struggles taking place across the United States and the world.

Since our inception, Denver ABC has raised over $50,000 that has gone directly to these initiatives. In 2012, we raised over $12,000 that included:

-$1,500 to bail funds for anarchists and other revolutionaries captured by the state across the country.

-$6500 to help transport, house, and feed over 75 participants from Canada, the United States and Mexico for our second annual North American Anarchist Black Cross Conference.

-$800 to local anarchists and other social movement members needing assistance paying medical bills, paying rent, buying groceries, and paying legal fees.

-$650 in solidarity donations to other revolutionary organizations and projects including Riseup.net, the Tierra Amarilla Youth Leadership Institute, and the Anarchist Black Cross Federation.

So far in 2013, we’ve been equally as busy, dispersing hundreds of dollars to commissary funds, bail funds, and solidarity donations for a wide variety of efforts.

This work is now threatened unless we can raise more funds immediately. Our warchest is dangerously low, and our ability to offer aid to folks under attack by the state is already starting to be hindered.

If you are interested in supporting our work, and ensuring that our past support for the efforts of Occupy Denver does not end the broader work our organization is engaged in, there are several ways to show us some love!

One Response

I dont know if i’m as radical as you guys, but i was at occupy denver and was saw you had our backs, that was cool. Sad to hear how uncool some of the people there are. I am going to talk to the wife and make sure we get you something.